I'm doing good man, had a great Christmas. I was watching those highlights a couple days ago myself. Amazing stuff and im dying to see him play again, it's been forever. Old WCW matches on youtube are so sweet btw

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I've been watching Saturday Night's Main Event episodes from the 80s.

And CM Punk is now at 400 plus days as champion. I think he keeps it until WrestleMania. Any plans to go to NY/NJ to see it live this time?

And CM Punk is now at 400 plus days as champion. I think he keeps it until WrestleMania. Any plans to go to NY/NJ to see it live this time?

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I've kind of lost interest in current WWE, it's just too stale for me. It's hard for me to sit through half an episode but I try. I watch classic matches almost nightly though. I may go see it, are tickets on sale already? I've been too busy to follow it.

This is a great scenario for Nadal to begin his comeback at Acapulco. He can build his confidence by winning a NINTH consecutive Monte Carlo title (and a 2nd Acapulco title, which he last won in 2005), a SEVENTH Rome title (in 9 attempts), an 8th Barcelona title (in 8 attempts) and an EIGHTH Roland Garros title (and it would be the second time he has won a slam four consecutive times).

And Nadal has the perfect opportunity to win slams on clay, grass and hard-court all in a calendar year AGAIN.

And Nadal can break the Borg/Sampras/Federer/Nadal tie of winning one slam per year for eight consecutive years (he'll make is NINE in 2013).

And Nadal can break the Wilander/Nadal tie of winning two slams on each surface (with a Wimbledon2013 win and a USOpen2013 win).

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LIKE, OHMIGOD YES!! YESYESYES, AMEN!!!

Nadal is now in the PERFECT POSITION to YET AGAIN achieve the IMPOSSIBLE for the 4,697th time in his HISTORICAL career -- he will NOW BECOME the first player in HISTORY to WIN the year's first SLAM without even ENTERING!!

It will be the most UNPARALLELLED HISTORICAL achievement in the HISTORY of HUMAN HISTORY!!

This reminds of the Amare Stoudemire situation with the Knicks. Chronically injured superstar...every comeback date sidelined by either something outlandish or miniscule. In all likelihood, Amare is done and will either not play again or will return briefly as a shell of his former self.

I sincerely hope that Nadal's body has not passed the precipice of disrepair and look forward to his return.

Rafa will be back, he is just giving his knees a little more rest. I just wonder how long his knees will hold once he does make it back. Will he be able to play a full schedule going forward? I'm not sure he will, but I still think he can win slams playing a limited schedule.

Nadal is still having problems on clay against Federer, Murray, Del Potro and Djokovic. It's not a breeze for him playing against those guys. He needs to be in optimum mental and physical form if he's going to be lifting more clay titles. Even 1% drop is going to even things out and make it anybody's tournament to win.

You really need a life. I'm over waiting to see when he's coming back and being excited about him returning. He's still my favorite player. I'm just done worrying about him until I see him step on a court.

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I completely understand, man. I don't know how you Rafa-fans deal with this. If Federer was out for half a year I'd be totally bummed out to the point of wishing that he just retired so I could stop worrying. And I'm just a casual Fedfan, I like some other players almost as much as him.

you're always obsessed with Fed's draw. At the US Open he got Murray in his half. But if this time he lands in Djokovic's half you will be moaning about lucky draws again.

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Well Federer could call himself very unlucky if he gets Andy Murray in his side of the draw, the two times that Nadal isn't participating. But hey, I'll be happy as long as he doesn't get Berdych in his quarter. (although I also see him losing to Del Potro)

You really need a life. I'm over waiting to see when he's coming back and being excited about him returning. He's still my favorite player. I'm just done worrying about him until I see him step on a court.

Something bigger than what's being said is going on with him. I don't like the way it smells, idk. For the AO id like to see someone new win at this point. Now that the Muzz has won a slam, I really don't care, as long as it isn't Novak.

I'm doing good man, had a great Christmas. I was watching those highlights a couple days ago myself. Amazing stuff and im dying to see him play again, it's been forever. Old WCW matches on youtube are so sweet btw

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Fair enough man, atleast you're honest about this,kudos to you for hanging tough for your boy, I would be totally gutted if Fed did this. Can't imagine what you must be going through but I'm sure Nadal will come storming back in the clay season(that's just my instinct).

Just thought I'd ask you what do you really think is going on with Nadal? Is it a confidence issue, a knee injury,what are your thoughts on the subject? Why isn't Toni giving us the full story?

I completely understand, man. I don't know how you Rafa-fans deal with this. If Federer was out for half a year I'd be totally bummed out to the point of wishing that he just retired so I could stop worrying. And I'm just a casual Fedfan, I like some other players almost as much as him.

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This is exactly how I feel. It's such a bummer to be a Nadal fan. I have been going through the motions with this guy for nearly 8 years now.

Well Federer could call himself very unlucky if he gets Andy Murray in his side of the draw, the two times that Nadal isn't participating. But hey, I'll be happy as long as he doesn't get Berdych in his quarter. (although I also see him losing to Del Potro)

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Do you see him losing to JMDP if he gets him in his quarter, or are you just saying it could happen?

I would disagree if you think JMDP will beat Federer. Federer has destroyed him the 2 times they played at the Aussie, but obviously the upset could happen.

A stomach virus? its two and a half weeks before the tournament begins. If it was a stomach virus he would not make this decision now, he would wait to see how he feels as the tournament gets closer. There is clearly something else going on here.....

A stomach virus? its two and a half weeks before the tournament begins. If it was a stomach virus he would not make this decision now, he would wait to see how he feels as the tournament gets closer. There is clearly something else going on here.....

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If he has to take a 4-7 days off from training due to the virus, then that will have a pretty significant impact on his training routine and schedule. First tournament back being a grand slam would be challenging enough, coming off of a long break, jumping right into 5-set matches.

For the fans, it sucks that he's missing another tournament, but if he played in it, he would likely get knocked out too early if he doesn't have time to continue to build his endurance back up.

A stomach virus? its two and a half weeks before the tournament begins. If it was a stomach virus he would not make this decision now, he would wait to see how he feels as the tournament gets closer. There is clearly something else going on here.....

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He didn't say the virus is keeping him from the AO. He said it is keeping him from playing the smaller tournaments before the AO and his doctors advised that his first tournament back not be a series of five setters. To me, it's would he rather gradually start again and play for the rest of the year, or jump into a slam and retire in the 3rd round. As a competitor I'm sure he wants to take the risk, but the smart decision is to take the extra time. It's 100x better to give an injury too much time to heal, than too little.

Come on, Mustard. You can't blame MichaelNadal for being at his wits end with Nadal right now. People only have so much patience, and he has already been out nearly 7 months, and it will be 8 months he will have been out if he comes back in February. It's frustrating, especially because Nadal and his camp keep getting his fans hopes up only to crap on them time and time again.

Come on, Mustard. You can't blame MichaelNadal for being at his wits end with Nadal right now. People only have so much patience, and he has already been out nearly 7 months, and it will be 8 months he will have been out if he comes back in February. It's frustrating, especially because Nadal and his camp keep getting his fans hopes up only to crap on them time and time again.

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Nadal will return when he both wants to return and is able to return. End of. He has given us tonnes of entertainment over the years, and has done it all in the sport in the most thrilling fashion.

I remember seeing how Fed struggled with mono during AO. Sometimes people don't realize how tough he is as a competitor.
Hope some day they will make the hard courts alot faster to give the edge to skillful players so players like Fed can be competitive until their late 30s. Tennis is just too physical right now that break down even the strongest guy like Nadal too early!

If you want players to play a lot longer, into their late 30s and beyond, hardcourt tournaments need to be heavily reduced on the tour.

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Yeah, they should replace most of hard court tours with synthetic grass/ carpet which is softer and faster. If the new racquets help them pass easier then the courts should give them less time for defence. Players will more likely to adopt attacking strategies. The field will have more variety of mixing old and young guys just like in golf.

Do you see him losing to JMDP if he gets him in his quarter, or are you just saying it could happen?

I would disagree if you think JMDP will beat Federer. Federer has destroyed him the 2 times they played at the Aussie, but obviously the upset could happen.

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I meant that it could happen, not that I expect him to lose to DelPo. It's just that, a few years ago it was very strange for one of the big 4 to not make the semis, they almost always did. Especially Federer and Nadal. And now when I see that Federer might meet someone like Berdych I get a little nervous. While earlier I wouldn't even have cared who he met in the quarters, it only mattered who he got in the semis.

I did not search through this entire thread it's just something that seems like a very good possibility to me

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lets put it this way, he has been "injured" for 6 months, and still has no clue what the injury is/was/might be,,,,,, I had a knee injury about 8?? years ago. Within a few days had an MRI, X-ray, diagnosis, treatment plan, knee surgery, and recovery plan within two weeks. There is billions of dollars riding on Nadal and his team of doctors, physicians, ATP, ITF, Tournaments, Nike, Babolat, and all his other list of sponosrs still don't know.

......and now, he will be out another two months because he has diarrhea.

He didn't say the virus is keeping him from the AO. He said it is keeping him from playing the smaller tournaments before the AO and his doctors advised that his first tournament back not be a series of five setters. To me, it's would he rather gradually start again and play for the rest of the year, or jump into a slam and retire in the 3rd round. As a competitor I'm sure he wants to take the risk, but the smart decision is to take the extra time. It's 100x better to give an injury too much time to heal, than too little.

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He wont be training in the weeks before the AO, so even if he was fine after the virus, he wouldn't have played tennis in a couple of weeks.

lets put it this way, he has been "injured" for 6 months, and still has no clue what the injury is/was/might be,,,,,, I had a knee injury about 8?? years ago. Within a few days had an MRI, X-ray, diagnosis, treatment plan, knee surgery, and recovery plan within two weeks. There is billions of dollars riding on Nadal and his team of doctors, physicians, ATP, ITF, Tournaments, Nike, Babolat, and all his other list of sponosrs still don't know.

......and now, he will be out another two months because he has diarrhea.

And...again...it's not the virus that is stopping him from playing, it will have passed by the time of the AO, but apparently he does not want to play a slam when he hasn't played tennis for a couple of weeks before said slam.

Edit: A doping ban is two years...so if he has still not played in two years, yeah it might have been doping.

Nadal will return when he both wants to return and is able to return. End of. He has given us tonnes of entertainment over the years, and has done it all in the sport in the most thrilling fashion.

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I agree with one exception. Rafa may not return and if he doesn't, then he's had a good run and provided a lot of good viewing for fans. I've enjoyed watching Rafa for years and if he's done, then good for him to have had such a nice career.

lets put it this way, he has been "injured" for 6 months, and still has no clue what the injury is/was/might be,,,,,, I had a knee injury about 8?? years ago. Within a few days had an MRI, X-ray, diagnosis, treatment plan, knee surgery, and recovery plan within two weeks. There is billions of dollars riding on Nadal and his team of doctors, physicians, ATP, ITF, Tournaments, Nike, Babolat, and all his other list of sponosrs still don't know.

......and now, he will be out another two months because he has diarrhea.

But a silent provisional suspension is not necessarily for two years. Learn the difference.

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I was unaware that there was such a thing, in the ATP, as a "silent provisional suspension", could you please link me where you found out about these? So that I can learn.

There have been cover-ups (by players) in the past for recreational drugs, but never doping, in any sport, and never by the sporting foundation, only the athletes. Ex. Agassi lied to the ATP about taking meth accidentally.

I was unaware that there was such a thing, in the ATP, as a "silent provisional suspension", could you please link me where you found out about these? So that I can learn.

There have been cover-ups (by players) in the past for recreational drugs, but never doping, in any sport, and never by the sporting foundation, only the athletes. Ex. Agassi lied to the ATP about taking meth accidentally.

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"So a silent ban may be an impossibility. Unannounced provisional suspensions, however, happen all the time."

when rafa implied that he was gearing towards the clay court season, i suppose this withdrawal shouldnt come as too much of a surprise. if his knee isnt 100percent he could risk missing the clay court season which is the only time he really dominates

"In the case of a “guilty verdict,” the charges go public whether the accused is Rafael Nadal or an unknown player ranked 500th in the world according to Miller, who has headed the ITF anti-doping arm since 2006."

"So a silent ban may be an impossibility. Unannounced provisional suspensions, however, happen all the time. Though unlikely, Rafael Nadal could conceivably be serving such a suspension."

At worst, he could be suspended from playing because he is under investigation or fighting an allegation.

However, it could be his arm, or he is really a member of the CIA and is on a mission right now...this type of speculation is ridiculous, and I am just not one of those people who who believes something simply because it has not been proven to be untrue. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_ignorance

"In the case of a “guilty verdict,” the charges go public whether the accused is Rafael Nadal or an unknown player ranked 500th in the world according to Miller, who has headed the ITF anti-doping arm since 2006."

"So a silent ban may be an impossibility. Unannounced provisional suspensions, however, happen all the time. Though unlikely, Rafael Nadal could conceivably be serving such a suspension."

At worst, he could be suspended from playing because he is under investigation or fighting an allegation.

However, it could be his arm, or he is really a member of the CIA and is on a mission right now...this type of speculation is ridiculous, and I am just not one of those people who who believes something simply because it has not been proven to be untrue. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_ignorance

Nadal is certainly afraid of the dark. He's most likely afraid of Djokovic. Nadal was crying in the locker room after the 3rd set during the rain delay at RG. Thinking he was going to lose to Djokovic for a 4th straight time at a Slam. We know Djokovic is on his mind.

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No way! I don't think he would cry after losing a set. And Nadal is NOT scared of anyone let alone Djokovic